Week 8

8/5

Today was really slow. I got there at 8:30 and there was nothing going on until 2. Dr. Hays was also out of town, so Dr. Jacobs from last Thursday was here. The new tech, Rebecca, taught me how to wrap gown and surgery packs. With all the free time I took some time to learn the names of the surgical tools.

Week 7

7/29

I arrived at the vet clinic expecting it to be a regular day. When I got there. Dr. Hays told Chloe and I to attend to the large animal handling class being held down the hall. This was taught by Mrs. Magsam, the vet science teacher here, and Mr. Norris, the animal science teacher. On Monday we focused on safety. I learned about animal flight zones, which ones kick, headbutt, trample, etc. We then went to the barn and said hi to the horses and groomed them. I am not used to being around horses so it was a cool experience for me.

7/30 

Tuesday was also focused on horses. A horse vet, Dr. Craig, came and demonstrated how to take a horse's heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, and other signs that they are ill. She also showed us her truck that contained all medical equipment she may need. Then each of us got to practice on a horse. I felt its artery under its neck to check its heart rate, and listened with a stethoscope and watched her breathing to check her respiratory rate. I put a harness on a horse for the very first time and walked it around in the barn.

8/1

Wednesday was all about cows. Today wasn't hands on, though, because the teachers didn't want us to get hurt. Dr. Prater, who runs the Vet Tech program at Morehead State University, came to talk to us about cattle and help our workers run our cattle through the squeeze and vaccinate and ultrasound them. 

8/2

The focus of Thursday was sheep and goats. Dr. Jacobs, who is an old friend of Dr. Hays, came to talk to us about his artificial insemination clinic for sheeps and goats he is starting in Lexington. We then went out to observe and pet the sheep and goats. There wasn't really much to do with them but pet them. But I'm going to ask Dr. Jacobs if he needs any volunteers at his new clinic.

Week 6

July 15

I hadn't been the week before since I had been sick. When I got there, Shaina, Chloe, Matt, and Lydnsey were there. Lyndsey was the temporary receptionist because the new girl, Amanda, didn't like it and left for a different job.
That morning we had a spay and a tooth removal. The spay was this medium sized, very sweet dog named Leni. I got her out of her cage and held her while Dr. Hays examined her. Then I drew same vaccines and held her while they were given to her. I shaved and scrubbed her and prepared her for surgery.
The tooth removal was on a cat named Derby. Dr. Hays noticed the teeth were sort of dirty and decided we should clean them. None of the other kids wanted to use the dental equipment and do that, so I did. It was easy, but I don't know why anyone would want to be a dentist. Dr. Hays then extracted the cat's tooth that was broken and painful.

July 20

Today was a bit different. It was a Saturday, and the clinic was closed. We were having a vaccination clinic at Southern States on Palumbo, which is a store that sells farm and pet supplies. Dr. Hays kept equating it to a car wash because the proceeds went to Locust Trace. From 8-12 we gave rabies vaccinations to dogs and cats for only $5 each. I was in charge of drawing up each vaccine. I drew 1cc per syringe, some with big needles, some with small. I was also in charge of collecting money, and eventually had to do paperwork to get the customers' information for future visits. It was different and a lot of fun!

Week 5

July 1

Today was a really fun day. It started off slow, but then Shaina and Chloe were there. When Dr. Hays showed up, his grandson Will was with him again. Will was a total goofball today. We just had a couple vaccinations, and then Amanda brought her three dogs in for baths. Chloe, Will, and I bathed them, but Will mostly ran around being the slightly annoying 11 year old kid he is. He was so hyper today; it was funny.
Shaina also brought in her dog to be groomed. Her and Chloe were shaving her, this gigantic dog with thick curly hair, when about halfway through Chloe had to go home. I said I'd continue her work. About 10 minutes later, Shaina and I both admitted that we had never done this before. It was kind of funny. But Shaina's dog Bella was a pretty good sport and we didn't mess up or anything; she looked nice.
But the interesting thing about today is my parents and my puppies came!!! Toby might have had an ear infection and our regular vet wasn't working, so I said it was the perfect opportunity to come meet everyone. I introduced my parents to Dr. Hays and everyone, and Dr. Hays gave Toby some medicine. We walked over to the barn to show my puppies the donkeys and what not, and they were freaking out.

Week 4

June 24

It was a very slow day. All of us were there at 8:30 and there wasn't an appointment until 11. Dr. Hays decided we were just going to ride around in the four wheeler for a bit. We ended up checking on the kittens, Rant (the pig), the donkeys, and the horses. I held the donkeys while Dr. Hays cleaned their feet. The other girls went to get the horses and we heard, "Um.. Dr. Hays..." and we turned around to see that Maggie, this HUGE horse, had gotten out of the gate. Maggie was pretty good though and they caught her, so we just laughed.

The appointment that came in was the most adorable little puppy. He was a mut, but he was so cute and sweet. He just needed some vaccinations. After that, a man from some company brought us all lunch and came to talk to us about nutrition and prescriptions pet diets. I didn't get to stay long. But I learned that if a dog is allergic to food, it is most likely allergic to the protein. He said they had food that broke down the protein in the food to 5 (I forget the units) and that made the dogs' bodies not able to recognize it, so they could eat it.

Week 3

June 17

When I came in this morning I expected Chloe and Shaina. To my surprise, I saw Chloe and Lyndsey, a girl from my school I've known for years who I had no clue went to this clinic. Our first client that was brought in was a 7 month old miniature pincher, and she was the cutest little 4.48 pound thing. We snuggled with her all day during our free time. She was there for a spay and a hematoma repair.

There was also a big dog, Bentlee, who was there for vaccinations and a bath. I bathed him with Chloe, and we were sort of clueless on how the bath and machines worked, so it was really fun. And Bentlee was such a relaxed dog; he didn't care at all. I clipped his nails too.

We had a German Shepherd come in for an exam that I helped with a lot. I drew his vaccinations and held him, and talked to his owner who was very sweet. The dog's name was Dozier.

After a while we needed to go to the barn to check on Rant, the pig. While out and about, I took a bunch of pictures of the different animals and such:

Week 2

June 10

For a while I was the only intern there. And for a while not many people came in. So Jenna showed me how to work the computer system and where some things were. There was the most adorable little chihuahua there all day that day. His name was Dinky. Whenever I had free time, I got Dinky out of his cage and cuddled with him. He was there for a dental. While he was anesthetized for his dental I clipped his nails, and that was the first time I'd ever done that. I only hit like two quicks (the vein in his nails).

Also, Kristin, another lady who works there, randomly came in with a bucket full of tiny kittens. It was literally the cutest thing ever. She said they were going to be farm cats so we shouldn't love on them too much, but we just couldn't help it.

Another intern came in at around 11 because she was supposed to give a dog a bath. Her name is Taylor, and she's pretty funny and very talkative. The dog was a great dane, so it was huge, so I went to help her with the bath. I had never bathed a dog other than my own before, and especially not one so gigantic.

Jenna taught Taylor and me how to properly draw vaccines. I stuck myself with a needle once, but they said everyone does that. I've got it down now, and drawing vaccines is easy.

After that it was a slow day, and the last appointment was a cat to get euthanized. I didn't really want to see that so I went home.